I took 3 or 4 branches and laid them on my dining room table horizontally with the cut ends at the center point of the table. I fanned them out a bit but still kept them pointing in the direction of the short end of the table. Using branches that have small offshoots gives the best effect I think.

Then I placed several more branches underneath the first set so that the cut ends were underneath the green parts and were fanning out - like shingles on a roof. When it's as long as you want it to be on that side, begin on the other side by laying out a few branches heading toward the opposite short end of the table. Continue until it's as long as you want it to be. I found that I used more branches than I thought I would (but that's also because I wanted a full, woodsy look).

In the center of the arrangement I put a Mason jar with a 3" candle inside. I raised the candle a bit by adding white rice to the bottom of the jar. That had the added bonus of a) bringing in another shade of white and b) looking snowy (sort of). You could arrange some white taper candles in rustic candle holders or a fat candle in a pretty bowl instead of the Mason jar, but I didn't have anything that would work.

Last, I arranged the votives in clear holders randomly among the branches. They looked so pretty radiating out from the larger candle in the center.